


peach blossoms

by mulgogish



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, jeno is NICE im crying, slow burn kinda, unlucky hyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:07:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26209948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mulgogish/pseuds/mulgogish
Summary: "Yeah, run." Donghyuck glares at every person passing him. "Cowards." He spits out, feeling parts of his shirt stick on his skin. He's not even going to bother. If he enters the class soaked by the rain, no one would even blink. Donghyuck isn't a bit surprise, neither will his friends and classmates."You'll catch a cold if you keep standing in the middle of the rain."
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Comments: 4
Kudos: 110
Collections: NOHYUCK FEST: 정답!





	peach blossoms

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to the prompter for this prompt, i hope you'll enjoy this one. same goes to everyone who will be reading this fic♡♡♡

It's not even past noon yet Donghyuck has managed to embarrass himself _big time_ on two different occasions.

He was on his way to the admission's office because he forgot to get the physical copy of his schedule after winter break. It wasn't easy, walking inside the admission's office is like walking inside your meanest nightmares. It's like everyone doesn't care the moment you step in, but talk to one of them, and they give so much a menacing scowl. That's how it is. Did he mention he was also planning to pass a few papers from his high school? They asked it before the second semester started, though it's not Donghyuck's fault that his old school has lazy staff. 

What happened was, because of the delays, Donghyuck had to talk to one of the main staff. He told him his excuse and gave the important papers first. His smile was as stiff as a log when the staff looked back at him.

"Sign here." She says, going back to shuffling the huge stack of papers before giving Donghyuck one. _Exactly, where?!_

"Um, where do I sign?" Donghyuck politely asks. The staff might not mean to, but the look that she gave Donghyuck was scarier than his Korean History professor's. She points her pen just below the words printed on the paper. Donghyuck nods and opens the cap.

"Left." The staff says again, startling Donghyuck. 

"Pardon?"

"Left side. The right side is for the admission head." 

Donghyuck swallows thickly, nods. "Okay." 

  
  


That was phase one of his morning embarrassment. They didn't have to be mean to Donghyuck, although maybe they were really programmed to be like that. Admissions, man, they're scary. But the second one immediately happened right after he exited the room. 

Donghyuck kind of blames himself for this one. His stupidity and himself. 

Listen, Donghyuck is a normal guy. He has a few good friends, he eats eggs, he loves potatoes, and he loves to write. The thing is, he also likes a guy named Lee Jeno. 

It is quite a secret, because he's not really open with love and things like that. It's not like Jeno knows him enough to hang out and ask if he likes anyone lately. No. It's not like that. It's more like he knew Jeno through a friend, Renjun, good guy, because they're from the same department. They have a huge campus, but Jeno is striking and moderately popular. So, Donghyuck freezes whenever he's around. 

Kind of like what happened moments ago, as he closed the door Donghyuck spotted Jeno walking towards his way. It was his chance to say one hello. He was ready, and his hands were already ready to wave. Donghyuck smiles, mumbling, "Hello" when Jeno stops in front of him. 

"Oh," Jeno muses, eyes downwards. "Your shoelaces are untied." He helped whilst pointing at Donghyuck's rubber shoes. 

His eyes widen before kneeling down to fix his laces. Great, that was good timing. The nice thing is that he didn't move, or he might have tripped in front of his crush. Once Donghyuck finishes tying them back, he stands up and smiles again. But Jeno's already gone. 

So much for good impressions. 

  
  


-

Donghyuck is dying. He woke up one hour before his next class— which is not a big deal, really. He made sure to set his phone like that on purpose. He didn't intend to attend his morning class anyway, considering he had to finish the paper for cultural theory until two am. He would not be in the right mind to face his french professor if he had chosen to go. That's not the problem. 

The problem is that, after Donghyuck finishes his morning routine, he opens his laptop to print his work. To his lack of luck, his printer made an angry sound. A warning on the monitor appears, announcing that his printer doesn't have enough ink anymore. Normally, that won't be that big of a mess. Nothing to get antsy about, since they have a two in one photocopy machine down at the lobby. 

  
  


So Donghyuck sighs, grateful for the admins that made every dorm building have at least one photocopy machine for students like him. Slinging his bag on one of his shoulders, Donghyuck locks his room before he goes down the stairs. It's only nine thirty, and his next class won't be until ten. His footsteps are light as he goes over the machine, only to find a note sticking in front of it. 

_Out of order_

Donghyuck grunts, but inside his mind he's already losing his sanity. He has less than thirty minutes to print his work before he gets to class. It wouldn't have been this huge of a problem if there was any other printer nearby. But the nearest one is on the other side of the campus. It's supposed to be for the engineering majors since a bunch of alumni from their department donated to build a printing shop for their juniors, though it is now being used by every student in the campus. 

Donghyuck stands there for a minute, with a lack of sleep and a creative imagination. The plan goes like this:

He has twenty-two minutes to run across campus, pass the field and onto the engineering building. If he's fortunate, which he doubts but it's free to dream, the line won't be that long and he can run back to the arts building where his next class is going to be. It would've been nice for the universe to make this day easier, considering the arts building is just right next to his dorm. 

Shaking his head, going back to reality, Donghyuck prepares to sprint. He stretches a bit, he hasn't run in a while, and bolts across campus. 

  
  


It took him at least four minutes to arrive in front of the engineering building, panting while a few students passed by him. They looked at Donghyuck curiously but he didn't mind, he really just wanted to print his paper. Sweaty as he is, Donghyuck opens the door only to be welcomed by the cool artificial air from the air conditioner. He hopes he won't catch a cold. 

Upon entering, Donghyuck noticed that there weren't a lot of people demanding for printers. So he went to the nearest one he could see. The tenant looks at Donghyuck worriedly. With his face covered in sweat, heavy pants escaping his mouth, while his sling bag droops sadly beside him who wouldn't be concerned. 

  
  


"File name: idontwannadothisanymore, short bond paper, three pages, black and white." Donghyuck musters with heavy breath, giving the guy his flash drive before fixing himself. Once he calmed down enough, he decides to take a look at the place he hasn't been—

_God help him_

Donghyuck sees Jeno beside the shop, standing by the vacant table as he scans the thick amount of papers on it. He seems to be very focused that he didn't notice Donghyuck staring at him. Instead of daydreaming further, he pinches both of his eyes close and looks down. Quietly, he curses at himself for seeing Jeno in the worst of times. 

He grabbed his paper and flash drive not a minute later and went on his way. 

Jeno doesn't need to see him in this state. 

  
  


(Donghyuck paced quickly as he spotted their room number. He texted Yerim a few minutes ago but he wasn't able to check if she replied because he was too busy running. When he arrives, Yerim immediately sees him and stands up from her seat. 

"Dude! Where have you been?!" She exclaims, eyeing Donghyuck's current state. "Have you been running?"

"Obviously." Donghyuck was supposed to throw a sarcastic remark for his friend, but he instead sounded like a sad bear. "Where are the others?" He continued when he saw a few vacant seats inside. 

"Prof messaged me she will be thirty minutes late." Eunji says from her seat in front of the teacher's desk. "Did you not see my message in the group chat?") 

  
  


-

  
  


Schedule is hectic the next day, Donghyuck had aero boxing for P.E in the morning, and the rest of his classes were this afternoon till seven in the evening. Wednesdays are the worst, but if you're Donghyuck Wednesdays are probably just times five of your usual misfortune. As he stood up from his position below the old oak tree across the track field, he made his way to his next class. Luckily, this time, Donghyuck has more free time. He can have lunch and leisure his way before class—

That's before his bag decides to give up on him. 

Donghyuck stifles a whine as he stares at the rip on his sling bag. Not a day goes by that nothing bad happens to him. Honestly, Donghyuck thinks he's cursed or something. 

"Seriously?" He finally mumbles, dragging his bag behind him, face downcast. Then someone taps on his shoulder. 

"It looks like you need help with that?" The very familiar voice says, and Donghyuck is too embarrassed (yet again) to face the other. But he did anyway. 

"I really do." He proceeds to whine, dangling his bag on his arm. Jeno chuckles, grabbing Donghyuck's arm loosely when he starts walking.

"Come on," Jeno says, glancing at him from time to time before stopping on a medium-sized building. It's not that huge compared to the engineering or science building. The arts building is possibly two times the size of it. "Home economics." Jeno continues as if hearing Donghyuck's internal questioning. 

As it turns out, Jeno knows a senior from this department which is why he's always welcome to roam around in here. Donghyuck shouldn't have questioned it in the first place, considering Jeno's a friendly guy. The senior's name is Doyoung, and he's much like Jeno's brother. They meet him in the hallway, on the third floor, probably. Donghyuck couldn't remember, but he noticed how the building only had until fourth. 

Jeno opens a door to the room, gesturing to Donghyuck to follow him inside. When Jeno closed the door, it only occurred to him that they're in a sewing room. If the piles and different kinds of cloth stacked in the far corner has anything to go by, or the rows of sewing machines in front of them. Donghyuck settled himself on one of the chairs close to him. Jeno finds another chair and sits beside him. 

"You know, you shouldn't go around dragging your bag." Jeno scolds him, and it makes Donghyuck pout as he looks at the other. Jeno wouldn't know how unlucky he is, because Jeno is lucky. Jeno with his pretty face, and pretty life. Jeno looks so good right now, so focused with pushing the thread in the needle hole. 

"Not my fault my bag gave up on me." Donghyuck finally says, making Jeno smile, his eyes turning into half moons. 

Jeno knows how to sew. He didn't even need one of the sewing machines to help him fix Donghyuck's bag. It's not a big shock anymore, now Donghyuck's just more in love than ever. How can someone actually be... Lee Jeno? 

  
  


"Got anywhere to go to?" Jeno speaks, after being silent for a while, tying the thread together tightly. He looks up at Donghyuck, waiting for an answer. 

"Uh, yeah. I have like, three more classes." Donghyuck smiles, crookedly, not sure how to look at Jeno without giving away his feelings. 

"Oh," Jeno mumbles, standing up to return the sewing box to the shelf. He saw the other's shoulder tense when he went back. Maybe his mind's just making things up, but Jeno looks upset. "I guess, I'll see you around." He gave Donghyuck a wide smile before they went out of the room.

After they separated, Donghyuck was on his way to his next class. He stops by the cafeteria to buy toast; they were in the sewing room for a while. Donghyuck turns to look at the part of his bag Jeno fixed, smiling when he sees a tiny heart made of purple thread just above it. 

  
  


-

  
  


The next few days felt new, it's like Donghyuck could finally feel the spring breeze coming his way. There weren't any unfortunate events, and there wasn't anyone who could stop him from smiling like he's never experienced looking at a cherry blossom before without cursing his life. He concludes that his interaction with Jeno may have brought him luck. "Maybe Jeno gave me some of his luck." He mumbles to himself when a little girl gives him a piece of chocolate instead of hitting his knee for once. That is exceptionally new. Usually they would scream at him for existing. Kids. 

He was getting suspicious by the fourth day nothing had happened. He had lunch with Yerim and Eunji before their next class. It's surprising ever for his friends. 

"You never have lunch with us on Sunday." Yerim muses as she opens her chicken salad. Eunji hums, either agreeing to what Yerim said or admiring how tasty her chocolate mousse is. "What happened?" She continues, amused. 

Donghyuck shrugs, planting his arms on the table to rest his chin on his palms. He looks at the window behind Yerim and daydreams of a guy, with skin white as porcelain and eyes dark but gentle. His friends are correct though, Donghyuck would prefer having lunch in his room to avoid any public danger because of his ability to attract them. Which led him to never being able to hang out with the two beyond the classroom. 

"I don't know, felt lucky today." 

Eunji coughs, startling the both of them. Donghyuck gives his friend bottled water, looking at her worriedly. "Eunji what are you doing?" Yerim says, narrowing her eyes at the other. 

"Donghyuck is in love." Eunji answers as she stares into Donghyuck's soul. 

"No, I'm not! Where did you get that idea?" He denies, forcefully laughing, avoiding his friends' teasing looks. 

"You were daydreaming, bud. I do that, too, when I think of Mark." 

Yerim makes a puking face, successfully dodging Eunji's arm. 

"Whatever. I'm just feeling happy these days." 

  
  
  


When they head to their next class— cultural theory— Donghyuck suddenly remembers the unfortunate time he had with his paper. He shivers at the memory, sitting beside Yerim. They were told that they're getting back their papers since it's been recorded already. Donghyuck does not want it back, he's worried it might give him nightmares.

But as the professor calls them one by one, handing out their papers front page down, Donghyuck didn't expect to get a high score. Maybe a passing grade, that much he hoped. 

His name gets called, so he stands up. She gives Donghyuck a genuine smile before handing him the paper. No matter how tough she is with them, she's still very nice. No argument on that. 

  
  


"What did you get?" Yerim whispers once he gets back. Donghyuck shrugs, but Yerim was quick to steal it from him. "Show off." She huffs, placing Donghyuck's paper back on his desk. 

"What?" He reaches for it as he settles down. _Oh_ , that's new. He got a 98, that was beyond what he expected.

This week was really something. 

  
  


-

  
  


It didn't last long though, and Donghyuck knew it the moment Monday rolled down like a hail storm on him. Technically, Mondays are supposed to be _okay_. He only has two three-hour classes, and it'll be over before he knows it. But. French. 

Donghyuck didn't even have the time to whine when he sat down. Both of his friends aren't in this class, and it's only because he thought it'll be great to learn a language other than Japanese or Chinese. He could take those next year if he wants. He thought enrolling in a french class would be fun, simply a good experience. No one told him about the professor. 

In conclusion, his french professor is notorious. He's pretty good at what he's doing, really, but it would be nice for Donghyuck to tone down the shouting and degrading whenever they pronounce a word incorrectly. 

They're having an individual recitation, or as his professor likes to call it: practice. He knows he'll get called, Donghyuck hopes he won't be so harsh this time. By the time he's told to himself he'll survive the three hours, he hears the door opens. The whole class is faced with a gloomy sight of their professor. 

_Il est foutu._

  
  
  


Long story short, Donghyuck got scolded _big time_ for pronouncing _sentons_ wrongly five times. He managed to get through it though, when they get dismissed he's sure to tell it to Yerim and Eunji (and maybe Renjun, too. They've been so busy with college that they don't have time to catch up.) 

  
  


-

  
  


College is about deadlines; if it was about the experiences you'll make through the four years, then Donghyuck would have not been pulling his hair out trying to figure out what exam to review for first. Currently sitting in front of his desk, tightly gripping on his desk calendar as the angry red ink that encircles tomorrow's date stares back at him. He has two exams scheduled tomorrow, and on top of that a few papers to finish by the end of the week. Surely, there had to be a solution to this. 

Which is why, after whining about his excessive schedule being it only Tuesday, Donghyuck tells himself to take a break. He stands up from his swivel chair to go to the nearest café. There's a café just outside campus that students love going to, and the great thing is that it's open twenty-four hours. Donghyuck checks the clock across his bed; it's close to one am. 

Once inside the said café, Donghyuck sees a few other college students like him, some staring at their laptop screen and some on their papers. A fairly regular sight to see if you ask him. He orders an iced latte, waits for it at the side of the counter and ponders for a while. He starts mapping out what he'll do when he gets back to his room. Donghyuck's name gets called, stopping him from his internal suffering. 

"Thank you," He mumbles, ready to bolt out of the shop. Donghyuck turns around quickly, immediately bumping to someone. 

His sleepy eyes suddenly gapes at the dripping sight of beige and ice cubes. He stares at the ground, now covered with his order, couldn't even look at the person he bumped into.

"Are you okay?" The person says, and Donghyuck, he should have known. "Donghyuck?" The person continues, putting his hands onto Donghyuck's shoulder to steady him.

"I'm sorry..." He managed to say, voice quivering. This is so embarrassing, he's made a fool of himself in front of Jeno more times than he would have imagined. They always meet in the worst of times, and Donghyuck feels like crying for real. He doesn't notice his hands shaking until Jeno holds it. 

"It's fine," Jeno leads him out of the shop and hears him apologize to the staff behind the counter for the commotion. "let's go outside, yeah?"

Donghyuck didn't say anything but nod. 

  
  


Jeno walks with him until they're at a spot where the café lights are within reach, but far enough from the rest of the customers to see. Donghyuck continued to look downwards when they stopped walking. 

"I'm really, really sorry, Jeno. I didn't know someone was behind me. I guess I was so sleepy I just didn't think. I'm really sorry. I hope you're not mad. There's just so many going on," Donghyuck paused to sniff, only then he realized that he's crying. He tries to look up to wipe it properly, "I don't even know what to start. I don't know if I should review or, or...It's so hard—" 

Donghyuck stiffens when he hears a chuckle from the other. So, he looks at Jeno while still trying to wipe his tears away. 

"Donghyuck," Jeno stops and smiles, the look in his eyes are genuine, and caring, and it's like Donghyuck's being hugged by hundreds of plushies when Jeno started caressing his right arm with his hand. "You don't have to apologize. It's okay. I understand."

"You, you do?"

"Please, we've all been there, right? The worst thing I can do is to blame someone who's been working his ass off all day and night, yeah?" Jeno's smile widens, his eyes turning into crescents again. Just like how it looked back at the sewing room. He sighs, pulling his coffee-stained shirt away from his skin. "I should change." 

"Yeah," Donghyuck ducks his head in shame, noticing how Jeno's shirt is fully covered by his coffee. 

"Want to go with me? I'll make you some tea, you look like you need it." He laughs a little, reaching his hand out for Donghyuck to take. 

  
  
  


Jeno's room isn't anything new, they all have the same 200-something sqft. room and the same furniture aligned inside. It's too small for two people, that Donghyuck could agree on. So, when Jeno said he needed to change after brewing Donghyuck tea, (Seriously, at this point the only thing Jeno couldn't do is to love Donghyuck back— That's a conversation for never.) he had to turn around when Jeno started taking his shirt off. The good thing is that he's already seated on the other's chair facing the window that overlooks one side of the campus. It's a better view than his. 

"I don't think we've ever had the chance to talk after Renjun introduced us to each other." Jeno says, shirt changed, sitting on the edge of his bed. He smiles at Donghyuck when he turns back to him. "Hi, I'm Jeno."

Donghyuck has the urge to laugh, so he did. "What- Are we really doing this again?" Jeno nods. "Okay. Hello, I'm Donghyuck." 

"Literature major, right?"

"Yep." Donghyuck sips his tea. "Why engineering, Jeno-ssi?"

"Call me Jeno, please." They laugh together at how ridiculous they sound. "Engineering is hard, but I find it interesting enough to take it. Why literature?"

At the question, Donghyuck's eye brightens up. Jeno notices and ducks his head down to hide a smile. "Writing, reading, I love them so much. Like, seriously, Jeno, you have no idea. I don't even have a concrete answer for that. I just love it, and I love learning more about it. It's so weird." 

"It's not weird, Hyuck." Donghyuck shuts his mouth, cheeks betraying him as it turns a light shade of pink upon hearing Jeno say his nickname. "It's great that you love what you're doing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But it gets tough sometimes."

"Is that why you felt like that awhile ago?" 

Donghyuck gave him a tight smile, "Yeah, everything's really hard to deal with right now. Finals are coming up, too."

Jeno stays silent, preferring to stare at Donghyuck as he finishes the rest of his tea. "Good?" Jeno whispers, smiling when Donghyuck gives him a nod. It's the only time Donghyuck could completely look at Jeno from a respectable distance. He wasn't able to see his face before, when Jeno was busy fixing his bag. That will never not be sweet for Donghyuck. 

  
  


He snaps out of his dreamy trance when he notices the clock on Jeno's bedside table. "Oh my god, is that the time?"

Jeno glanced at his clock, nodding slowly as he looked back at Donghyuck who had stood up from the chair walking frantically towards the door. "I need to go. Thank you so much for letting me stay and calming me down." He rapidly says, opening the door, not waiting for Jeno's reply before he completely exits the room. Jeno blinks at his closed door, still processing what happened. 

  
  


On the other hand, Donghyuck knows Renjun stays just below Jeno's floor, but he doesn't have any time to bother his friend. It's nearing three am and his first exam is at nine in the morning. 

  
  
  


-

  
  


Jeno and Donghyuck met again after that forsaken night? day? This time, Jeno asked for his number. They began to chat sometimes, but most of the time Renjun would invite him to eat with them. It wasn't like they didn't have anything to do anymore. They were still busy; busier than ever now finals are around the corner. But Renjun told him it's painful to see Donghyuck pine for someone so close, though not enough to create a bond between them. 

So Donghyuck would meet them sometimes at the diner a few blocks away from the café after their last class. Renjun would make sure to sit Donghyuck beside Jeno. That would make the other blush if it weren't for the fact that Renjun looked like he placed them next to each other just so he could sit beside Jaemin. That's beside the point though. The point is, Jeno and Donghyuck became closer after a month. 

  
  


-

A day after meeting up with the three of them, Donghyuck's faced with reality yet again. Reality where it's Wednesday. As usual, he's walking from P.E class to go to the cafeteria to grab a bite before heading to his next class. When suddenly, he hears voices screeching, and some students running past him. He squints his eyes to the sky, and a few droplets of water splattered on his face. Before he knows it, the rain starts pouring harshly on him. 

Donghyuck stands there, in the middle of the field, hearing some students laughing because they forgot to bring an umbrella. Some were cursing under their breaths, saying they're late for their classes. But, Donghyuck just stood there, used to being rained on by misfortune. 

"Yeah, run." Donghyuck glares at every person passing him. "Cowards." He spits out, feeling parts of his shirt stick on his skin. He's not even going to bother. If he enters the class soaked by the rain, no one would even blink. Donghyuck isn't a bit surprise, neither will his friends and classmates. 

"You'll catch a cold if you keep standing in the middle of the rain."

Donghyuck turns around, finding Jeno smiling at him as he holds an umbrella above the two of them. He swallows thickly, the water from the rain dropping for his eyelashes to his cheeks. "Jeno, what are you doing here?"

Jeno shrugs, walking closer to Donghyuck. "I was in the area, and then I saw you moping in the rain so I thought: Hey, that's Hyuck, he looks sad and might catch a cold. Here I am now." 

Donghyuck laughs, looking down on his shoes, thinking of how sweet Jeno has been to him every time he's having an unlucky day. "Thank you, Jeno." 

  
  


"Now, where are you headed?" Jeno bumps his shoulder to Donghyuck's, gaining his attention. They smile at each other as they walk towards the arts building. It's not that far, but they had to run a bit since the rain had become stronger. 

  
  


"I'm okay here, thanks." Donghyuck says once they're sheltered by the roof outside the arts building. 

"No problem. Next time bring an umbrella. Or, call me?" 

Donghyuck nods instead, ears burning by the way Jeno has been treating him. This is not unusual, Jeno does this with everyone. Donghyuck argues to himself. Or maybe not, maybe it's only for him. 

"Yeah, uh, I should go now." Donghyuck laughs awkwardly, pointing at the double doors. 

"Sure," Jeno waves back before Donghyuck disappears from his sight. 

  
  


-

When Donghyuck finishes his last class for the day, the sun has already set and there's no more rain pouring from the sky. As the door opened, he could still faintly smell the scent of the rain. The asphalt ground still has few splotches from the rain that haven't dried out. He smiles to himself, thinking of what happened earlier, but shivering slightly from the cold his now dried clothes brought him. 

  
  


"Hyuck," Donghyuck sees Jeno standing in front of a bench just outside the building. His eyes widen at the sight, he's not sure whether Jeno just got here or he's been here for hours. "Are you okay now?" 

"Jeno." He spits out, walking over to his friend, "Have you not left since this afternoon?" He asks, incredulously.

Jeno rubs the down side of his nose before speaking. "Uh, yeah. I was worried it will continue to rain after you're finished. I didn't get to lend you my umbrella so, I thought..."

"You should wait for me?"

"Yeah, that." Jeno chuckles, avoiding Donghyuck's eyes. He breathes out loudly after a moment. "Hey, Hyuck I—"

  
  


"Jeno? Lee Jeno?" 

They both turn to the voice, and someone starts walking towards them. "Hey, it is you!" Donghyuck recognized the guy as Mark. He knows him from creative writing, and because Eunji has a huge crush on the guy. 

"Hi,"Jeno stutters when Mark gives him a half-hug. "Fancy seeing you here." Jeno adds, eyes looking unsure of what is happening. 

"Me? Fancy seeing _you_ here." Mark laughs and Donghyuck watches the exchange curiously. Jeno looks awkward, but Mark seems like he's known the other for a while now. Then Mark looks at him, and Donghyuck gives him an awkward smile. "You're friends with Donghyuck?" Mark says looking at him, but his question is for Jeno. 

"Uh, yeah. Just recently."

"Cool, cool. I have to go." Mark pats Jeno one more time. "Let's hang out sometimes!" 

"Sure." Jeno yells out when Mark's a few feet away already. He returns to look back at Donghyuck, scratching his nape. "Sorry about that."

"No, no. No need to apologize. We know you have a lot of friends." Donghyuck humours, and Jeno breathes out a laugh. 

  
  


"Yeah, I- Listen-" Jeno gets interrupted again by the ringing on his phone. "Let me just-"

"Sure, sure." 

  
  


Jeno answers the phone and puts it beside his ear. That was probably a bad idea. The first thing that answered him was Renjun's loud voice. Donghyuck could hear it even from where he's standing. He cringes, thinking that it might hurt Jeno's ear if Renjun keeps doing that. 

  
  


_"Jeno, we said we'll have the meeting at six thirty! It's seven fifteen already. Are you slacking off?!"_

Donghyuck squints his eyes at Renjun's nagging, and Jeno looks at him apologetically. 

"Alright, I'll be there. Sorry." Jeno ends the call before Renjun gets to say anything. Then he looks back at Donghyuck, now embarrassed. "Hey, I should probably go." 

Donghyuck nods, chuckling. "Yeah, you should. Or you won't hear the end of it from Injun." 

"You're right." 

  
  


-

Jeno heads down to the library where their group promised to meet up for the project. When he gets there, he sees Renjun glaring at his phone, probably waiting for Jeno to call him. Their two other group mates were seated across him. He walks towards them, the girl noticing him and gives him a wave. 

"Where were you?" Renjun's the first one to say something as Jeno sits next to him. 

Jeno shrugs opening his laptop. He had to go back to his room to grab his things which took him much longer to get there. "I forgot."

"No, you didn't." Renjun squints his eyes at him in annoyance. As Jeno was opening his mouth, his phone vibrated from his pocket.

  
  


**hyuck:**

_hey i think i forgot to thank you for waiting outside_

_you even got scolded by injun : (_

_thank you and sorry_

Jeno coughs, hiding a smile as he replies, locking it before anyone could see, but he wasn't very quick. 

  
  


"Was that Donghyuck? Were you with him?"

Jeno sighs, rolling his eyes. "Yes, I was. Happy?"

"Did you finally tell him?"

"Tell him what?"

Renjun slams his book on the table, startling their two other classmates and other students sitting near them. He glares at Jeno while doing so. "You know this will be a lot easier if you just tell him how you feel." 

"I tried okay?!"

"It's been eight months. How long will this last?!"

  
  


They dropped the subject as soon as the librarian went to hush them, and warned that they will be blacklisted if they ever do that again.

  
  


-

  
  
  


Renjun tells them that they should head to his room after finals and order take out. Donghyuck just got out of his last class for the semester, walking straight to the exit and to Renjun's dorm. He's hungry, and the last thing he could think of making his hunger worse is waiting for another hour to eat. 

When he gets inside the building, Donghyuck picks the elevator, since he's too tired to go up the stairs anymore. He's been running up and down the stairs since the morning. As it was about to close, Jeno ran up inside it and they smiled at each other. It's been a week since the two of them spent time alone. It was after Jeno's finals, instead of calling the other two, they decided to go to the café and chat. Renjun and Jaemin still had a couple of things to finish then. This is the only day they could eat together again. 

"Just got out of class, too?" Donghyuck mumbles, glancing at Jeno. 

Jeno hums, clicking the button to Renjun's floor. Jaemin said he'll be there before the two of them, so maybe he's already there. Donghyuck busies himself by tapping his fingers on the railing stuck on the wall. 

The quiet was disturbed by a creaking noise from somewhere which made the two stare at each other in horror. Jeno pushes the open button, but the door didn't budge. 

"We're stuck." Donghyuck concludes. And if it weren't for his talent of bringing misfortune, he would think this is absurd. 

"Don't worry, it happens a lot."

"This happened before?!"

Jeno nods, calmly, opening his phone again to type in a number. "I'll call maintenance. It'll take one hour max, no need to worry. I'll tell Jaemin what happened." He assures Donghyuck, and probably himself. Donghyuck leans his side to the wall and stares at the elevator doors. He's never been stuck in an elevator before. Moreso with his crush. It's strange. 

  
  


He hears Jeno hang up and sigh. It was quiet after that. Donghyuck chose to memorize the small space. He looks up at the ticker, still at 2; he looks up higher noticing a cctv and immediately posing with his fingers making a v sign. He decides to face Jeno to check up on him. And he's not happy with what he saw.

  
  


Jeno's eyebrows are pinched together, he's biting his nail, rather, nervously. Donghyuck furrowed his eyebrows, walking closer to Jeno. "Hey, Jeno." Donghyuck whispers, trying to get the other's attention. "Are you okay? Are you, perhaps, claustrophobic? Are you uncomfortable? Are you—"

"I like you." 

Donghyuck almost chokes on his words. Jeno then faces him, his eyes sincere as ever. He wonders if what he heard was true or if it was another figment of his imagination, like when he thought Jeno waited for him a month ago because he likes him. "W...What?"

"I-" Jeno exhales loudly, staring intently onto his eyes. "I've liked you for a while. And, and I didn't want to tell you because you might think it's strange. That I want to protect you. That, that I want to make you smile— just like how you manage to make me smile whenever you're around. I know, since the moment Renjun introduced me to you, that— this is gonna sound cheesy..." 

Donghyuck gulps audibly, cancelling Jeno's voice for a while. He looks back on all the times he's been with Jeno, whether it's before they became friends or during that time. Donghyuck blinks upon realizing that, maybe, that time when Jeno sewed a tiny heart in his bag wasn't just a cute gesture he does because _he's Jeno_. Maybe he doesn't always wait for his friends after the rain? 

  
  


"—and, you might not feel the same. That's okay. I just thought, this might be the only time we'll get to spend time alone. I, I really should have told you sooner."

"I like you, too." Donghyuck blurts out, cheeks reddening while he continues to stare at Jeno. He's breathing so loudly, and his heart is beating so fast. He's afraid Jeno could hear it from where he's standing. "I've also liked you since the first time I saw you." 

"Really?" Jeno whispers, as if speaking loudly would ruin the perfect moment they have now. He leans a little more, and Donghyuck notices how close they are compared to before. "You mean that?" 

"Yeah." Donghyuck nods rapidly, his reply sounding more like a mere sigh than an actual response. They stare at each other for seconds they cannot count at all. Not when a whirlpool of emotions are hitting them all at the same time. Jeno makes the first move, snaking his fingers through Donghyuck's arm up to his neck. He rest them there, thumb caressing it slowly. Donghyuck shivers.

  
  


"May I?"

Donghyuck blinks; he knows what Jeno's asking, but he still could not fathom how this is happening right now. Now that they're stuck in an elevator on their way to their friend's dorm room. So Donghyuck nods, far too eagerly making Jeno chuckle. "Yes. Please." He whines, but is immediately shut by Jeno's lips crashing onto his own. 

  
  


Donghyuck wraps his arms around Jeno's neck, while the other snakes his other arm around Donghyuck's waist. It's sensational, to say the least. How it feels like Jeno's arm fits perfectly around his waist, how their lips go so well together. 

Donghyuck would feel Jeno's smirk through the kiss, and he would bite his lower lip to shut him up for being smug. Jeno would go down to kiss his jaw, but Donghyuck would pull his hair and whine. They'll go back to kissing each other, and before they know it, Donghyuck's already trapped between the cool metal wall and Jeno's warm body. 

  
  


They let go for a second before continuing kissing. They wouldn't notice that the elevator started moving again, and it stopped on Renjun's floor. Jeno continues to bite and suck on Donghyuck's lips even when the doors open. They didn't notice how three other people were standing in front of them. 

  
  
  
  


"Fuck! My eyes!" Renjun yells out, turning around from the scene. "Jaemin, tell me when it's over. Dammit." 

Contrast to him, Jaemin stood there, smiling wickedly just when Jeno let go of Donghyuck to check their surroundings. He smirks, noticing how swollen his friends' lips are. "Nice." 

  
  


-

  
  


A week after their torturous confession, as Renjun loves calling it. Jeno finally asked Donghyuck to be his boyfriend. And after a few more unlucky days, Donghyuck said yes. The four of them are seated at the far back of the café. No one saw it coming, but then again, who would have _not_ guessed that Jaemin and Renjun are dating? It wasn't a surprise when they told Jeno and Donghyuck.

"Maybe we'll have double dates!" Jeno chirps, earning negative responses from his friends and Donghyuck. He pulls the other for a kiss to shut him up. "It'll be fun. We're basically on double dates every time we eat out."

Donghyuck sighs, staring at Jeno lovingly, even with his stupid suggestions, he couldn't be any more in love. "You're lucky I love you."

"I'm lucky I love you." Jeno hums, leaning once more to kiss his boyfriend. 

  
  


No matter how unlucky Donghyuck felt before doesn't even compare to how lucky he feels knowing that Jeno loves him the way he does. 

  
  
  


Maybe, he isn't so unlucky after all.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i hope you liked it! tell me what you think in the comments if u wanna, maybe leave a kudos too hehe ♡ thank you!


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